Hello again. That was a little longer break than I’d planned, but this pesky job thing got it the way when I returned from Ohio and before I knew it a week had slipped by me. In truth, I came back with little to say. I thought the week in Ohio might reveal some new, deep truths, but alas, that was not the case. I discovered (or in one case, rediscovered) two things that might be of modest interest.First, if you think the current Presidential campaign has been going on for a long time, pity the poor people of Ohio – “a key battleground state” – as Brian Williams would say. As such, the candidates are in full tilt battle, with fairly hard-hitting TV commercials on at seemingly every break. Obama promising change, and McCain blaming Obama for high oil prices were the main themes I saw in late July.
My rediscovery was the simple beauty of the Ohio countryside. I drove the 177 miles from Columbus to Warren without entering the interstate highway system. This route was beautiful all the way, but especially as it traversed through Holmes County, which is Amish country. The world may be going to hell in a hand basket (I also drove by the Longaberger Building in Newark, OH) but the Amish are holding their part of it together with grace and beauty – not to mention a very small carbon footprint. It’s hard not to wonder what the meaning of progress really is when you see how these people live. They work hard, they produce everything they need, they take care of their own, they don’t pick fights with anyone, and they leave the planet relatively unscathed. If only Kelly McGillis were really Amish…
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so could a person live in the country? In a rural area. One could not go outside and walk to get whatever and wherever they want to go. And, honestly, bugs get in your vagina. so the question becomes, could d'blank live in that environment. Not that d'blank has a vagina . . . the poor people in Ohio should do what I've been recently doing this election cycle. No attention to politics, nor worrying about the economy. Simply concentrating on how good the Manny trade was.
Fenway, I did not see the vagina comment coming. I will add that to my differential diagnosis of foreign bodies in the vagina. Although d'blank has an unnatural fear of insects I am certain that he does not have a vagina. Next week, I will travel to Columbus,Ohio and then on to Dayton for a wedding. It will be interesting to see the political ads in Ohio. Columbus seems to have a relatively stable economy but Dayton has been hard hit with layoffs and job losses. The ads may be different in the two cities. So far NC has been ignored by the campaigns but I am sure that will change.
Well Woody, going back to the state where they used to play "kill the catcher?" And that was you!
I went into a Wal-Mart a few days ago in Bennington, VT and felt like getting right out. There was an entirely different America in it. NYC has its urban poor but this was an overweight, polyester culture which appeared to be on the fringes of education, self-awareness and economic stability. I don't think there was one food item which did not contain partially hydrogenated fat. With a glut of information, either this culture is illiterate or deems it to be effete. I felt every person could spot me for something they were not. Am I wrong at the core, or is something not getting through?
On another note. If you haven't read the piece in the July 21st New Yorker (yeah, I am a New Yorker, but so is d'blank) on Obama, the one with the cartoon of him and Michelle on the cover, read it. This is a dead on view of Chicago politics and the best insight into the man out there. He is smart, but cold-blooded. Perhaps not a bad combination for President...
I can confirm -- no bugs, no vagina. However, it was quite warm and the twins got a little sweaty nestled against the leather seats during the long drive.
well, I was with D,blank carrying the mail last week. It is good he is writing again, I felt like a drug addidic... I was going thru withdrawls...we went to "The Stadium" and then a dive bar (which I loved) but now it is time for D'Blank to write....
would you not agree?
177 miles thru Ohio is the only way to go.
glad you are back d'Blank
Fenway, thanks for the heads-up on the perils on country living. One can never have too much information.
I'm still trying to get my head around the picture of Hankster inside a Walmart. I've been in one on the east side of Spartanburg, SC (They've got 'em like Starbucks down there) and from what I could tell, you had to weigh at least 300 lbs. to trigger the automatic doors. Also, the people on the loud speakers are unintelligible to to point that they make train station announcements sound like they're delivered by David Niven.
I've been through that area of Ohio in the past year or two but in the early spring and winter. Although I'm sure it's quite verdant now, it was pretty bleak then. I think it's flatness of the terrain. Although I was coming from Elyria to Gambier.
Just returned from vacation at Pawleys Island, SC. My daughter, who lives in the east village, and I went to the Wal-Mart in Georgetown SC. It was a culturally uplifting experience.
We made the mistake of asking someone where we'd find spray paint. We were a little taken aback when she asked us why. She also made "why" a two syllable word.
It was a bit disconcerting when the largest section of the store was the gun section. Then again, they sure like their weapons in the low country.
The thought that I'm out of touch with regular American because I live and work inside the beltway, just doesn't seem all that bad.
Although if the Washington Redskins were to lose a defensive lineman or two, the women of the Wal-Mart would make a fine replacement, except the skins will have to find bigger uniforms.
Oh, and I almost forgot. I've been led to believe that most, if not all, the Amish are big Michigan fans. I could be wrong, but that's what I've heard.
I'm not sure how to reconcile america in my mind right now. I know that I don't want my kids raised in this stress factory called NYC (or frankly in any northeast metro area) because of it's ubiquitous traffic lights, filthy/rude merchants, corporate idiots, arrogant assholes and the like...yet when I look at the rest of the country I see not much more than that "overweight polyester" walmart, applebees, big box/franchise restaurant culture. Friends of mine in Missoula and Boulder brag about quality of life but I lived in VT ski country and good luck finding someone motivated to open their dry cleaning store later than 5pm and someone to stay at work later than 5pm to meet a deliverable. It is two Americas and I'm not crazy about either one, frankly.
I don’t mean to insult anyone but do any of you have your eyes open when you leave your own communities? You aren’t describing the America I see. It sounds like a sit-com writer’s version of middle America. Are there fat people in Wal-Mart? Who can deny it, but that is no more a complete description of “everybody” at Wal-Mart than it would be to say that everyone in Saks Fifth Avenue is thin and beautiful – which I assure you is not the case. Do they sell a lot of guns there. Well, yes. Guns are legal in this country, which is why you can buy them pretty much anyplace including New York, Boston, LA, and the other places all the smart people live. I don’t particularly like shopping in Wal-Mart myself, but the average household income is under $50,000 in this country, so ask yourself where you’d be shopping if yours was $40,000 and you had 3 kids to feed and clothe. Polyester? Well, not everyone can afford Nike’s moisture-wicking, multilayered, all cotton performance-wear. These are the people who have been gang-raped non-stop by politicians and corporate criminals for at least the last 25 years. They don’t deserve scorn or pity. They deserve respect for still standing, for being the people whose sons and daughters are bearing the burden in the Middle East, and for being the last people in America looking for a hand-out.
Yes and no. None of us want them or their loved ones to fight for an unessential cause in our name. However, they did elect and re-elect our current politicos who just put more weight on their backs. Was it d'blank or Lenin who said the oppressed tend to side with the oppressor?
Information is out there. It doesn't cost anything to exercise. You can put together a healthy diet for no more money than you can spend on junk if you do a bit of investigation.
Polyester is not the devil. In fact, it was a movie.
What America excels at it the freedom of individuals to indulge. Too many noses are in the wrong trough. Spending money on programs which don't work is not the answer, but neither is corporate welfare and passive-aggressive behavior towards energy independence. I listened in on Rush Limbaugh yesterday and lost lunch, breakfast and the dinner before. Anyone who just uses him for a source of commentary and information will not be part of the solution. However, they could be used to make Soylent Green.
I'm not arguing that fat people should not exercise. I'm making the point that "fat, stupid, Bush supporter" no more describes the rest of the country than "smart, enlighted and good-looking" describes everyone in the Village.
I am only good looking in the dark and by the blind.
I'm reeling. I'm also from Charleston, about 30 miles down 2-lane Highway 17 from Pawley's so I know 'those' people. 'They' know 'we' look down on them. That makes them angry and belligerent and, frankly, does make them cling to their guns and religion. It gives them a sense of control. Yes, they are the people who elected and re-elected The Idiot and they are bearing the brunt. Their daughters and sons are dying for nothing. "They" are desperately suffering economically - although we think we are the ones as our 401-ks and rollovers have diminished. We can still pay our mortgages, eat and send our kids to school. They can't. Although they have turned on that president-person they will not vote for Obama as they don't know him. They still know Bush and his kind. They don't talk down to the south. Cover story of the current Newsweek takes a trip through the south (roughly following the route Sherman did lo those many years ago - you know, 'the recent unpleasantness'. Very worth reading. Written by several sons of the south who've gone home again. Finally, we all get better looking (and thinner!) the drunker our companions get . .
41% of South Carolinians voted for Kerry in '04. I don't know what percentage own guns, but it isn't 100. I don't know what percentage are church-goers, but Pat Conroy, James Dickey and James Brown, so it's not 100.
There are people of all types everywhere.
I've always been of the opinion that there are mouthbreathing rednecks in every state of the union. I've just think that the ones they have in South Carolina are more interesting than your basic garden variety. In fact, South Carolina is basically more interesting than most any other state. In Greenville county, the only place you can get liquor by the drink on Sunday is in a "gentleman's club". You've got to love that kind of logic.
And, in fact, we could drink in the juke joints in and around Charleston in our very early teens. Because we were a dry state there was no drinking age. Ergo anybody who could push their money across the bar could drink. We could also get anywhere when we were 14 as that was the age to get a full driver's license. And, yes, Charleston is full of characters and drama. As is all the south.
You should meet Boston's Irish Catholics!
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